Education
by AlmostMrsW
Summary: "Please, I'll do anything to stay awake," Aurora mumbled, more than a hint of exasperation in her tone...Killian could barely regulate himself as the words slipped from his lips. "Come closer then, love." Sleeping Hook.


The old adage about lacking one sense and being profoundly strong in another really made no sense in Killian's situation, but after losing his hand he'd taken to thinking that the expression was entirely possible. He felt as though his sense of hearing had heightened since the infamous hook became a part of him, and this skill was not wasted on a pirate like himself. He needed all of his wits about him, especially now as he was tied to a tree in Snow White's camp.

So when he heard the faintest of rustling leaves in the distance, Killian knew that someone was trying to approach him without being caught. The night breeze traveled the saccharine scent of vanilla and lavender his way, signaling him that his guest was most likely female. He would have figured it was Mulan or Emma, whom had both taken to playing guard whenever possible; the two had entered in an unspoken competition of toughness, and he anxiously awaited the day they'd have a go at each other, the impish side of him hoping they'd find a pit of mud in which to end their feud.

Killian knew that if it had been Emma or Mulan paying him a visit, they would not be silent and they would not smell like a bubbling bath. There was only one person in the camp who vehemently insisted upon proper hygiene, and that was also the only other person who would be awake at such an hour of the night.

"Out for a sleepwalk in the moonlight, aye?" He asked, slowly turning his gaze toward the rose bushes to his right. A pretty pale face peered from around the leaves, followed by the rest of Aurora's lilac-clad frame.

"You must sleep in order to sleepwalk," she said softly, standing rigid as a board. Killian was reminded of the girl's curse, which made for countless sleepless nights as well as inevitable night terrors. Even her screams rang true of a dainty princess, shrill and breathy as a newborn baby bird.

"If you've come for late night conversation, I'm afraid I'm all out of topics," Killian snarked. "Being bound to a tree leaves very little room for excitement in my schedule. Unless you have a particular interest in branch-dwelling vermin or blades of grass?"

A small smile formed on Aurora's rosy lips at his attempt at humor, and her body relaxed slightly with the release of the breath she'd been holding.

"What are you doing here, lass?" He asked her curiously.

She faltered. "I-I don't know." A raise of the pirate's bold eyebrow prompted her to answer again with honesty. "I didn't want to be alone."

Killian sighed. "And what makes you think _I_ don't want to be alone either? Perhaps I don't want the company of a spoiled little princess who also happens to be one of my merciless captors."

Normally Aurora would have pursed her lips at the name-calling, her nostrils flared defensively and arms crossed tight as a corset round her chest. Tonight, however, Killian saw no spark or life in her sapphire eyes, shrouded by dark circles. She didn't have it in her to refute his claim. She barely had it in her to stand up for long periods of time. Killian suddenly felt surprisingly bad for the low blow to her confidence.

"We don't have to talk," she said, shifting her weight between her feet and making her shawl billow like gauzy purple waves in the wind. "I know you don't sleep much either, and just being in the presence of somebody...conscious, I guess...that's enough for me."

Killian looked her over. In the moonlight, her fair skin was luminous, a striking contrast to her dark auburn hair. Though her cape concealed her figure, Killian knew what lay beneath it. The nights were chilly, but the sticky warmth of the day rendered the princess to her silky shift dress at times. The pirate would be remiss if he didn't sneak a peek at her supple, womanly frame when he could.

The look of desperation in Aurora's eyes distracted Killian from his gratuitous reverie. They painstakingly reminded him of another woman's eyes. Eyes that had, too, shown desperation as they looked his way. He swallowed the bitter memory and nodded for her to approach him.

Aurora looked relieved as she scurried over to him, plopping down beside him in a most childlike manner. She leaned up against the tree trunk and sighed in contentment, closing her eyes. Killian reveled in the idea that someone—a princess, for that matter—could find comfort in his presence. He was a pirate, after all. A fearsome, loathsome, rotten scoundrel with no moral compass...right? He cursed himself inwardly. _You shouldn't have to question your own character_ , he thought bitterly. _You should know who you are by now_.

"You mustn't let me fall asleep," Aurora murmured softly, sounding seconds away from the slumber she was attempting to combat. "If I have a nightmare, I'll scream and-,"

"The honor brigade will come looking for you, only to find you in the company of the prisoner pirate," finished Killian, knowing all too well the repercussions of this date of sorts. "Don't want to sully your good reputation, Highness."

A lie, Killian mused. It was a very big lie. His resume of women he'd bedded was strictly made up of wanton harlots, adulterous housewives, and general dysfunction. The idea of besmirching the untouched flower that was Princess Aurora was entirely too appealing. Her delicious perfume had only intensified as she sat so near to him; when was the last time he'd enjoyed the scent of a beautiful woman?

"Please, I'll do anything to stay awake," Aurora mumbled, more than a hint of exasperation in her tone. Killian looked beside him to see her head resting against the tree, eyes closed and delicate brows slightly knit together. She looked ethereal, like a sleepless angel, and Killian could barely regulate himself as the words slipped from his lips.

" _Come closer then, love_."

Aurora's eyes popped open, their glistening crystalline irises wide in surprise. She did not look at him, only straight ahead. Killian watched as she swallowed, the action drawing his attention to her pristine neck that just begged to be peppered with kisses and nips of teeth. Her once-manicured fingers, now just slightly roughened up from their rugged journey, trembled over the tulle of her gown; obviously his proposition had caught her by surprise.

Killian let out a hard, sarcastic puff of air in replacement for a laugh. "Ah, so she _can_ be rendered speechless." Realizing that the look of what appeared to be horror on her face had an air of permanency, he added, "Relax, princess. It was more of a joke than an offer."

Delicate features loosening a bit, Aurora cast an irritated glare towards the offending pirate and resumed her regular stance of crossing her arms in defiance. Though it made her appear awfully childish, Killian had to admit that her snarl was more adorable than daunting; if anything, the attempted hardness seeping through her dainty features gave away the fiery attitude she often suppressed for keeping up appearance. He quite enjoyed that side of her.

"Besides," Killian began. "We both know what would happen."

"What do you mean?"

Her peaked interest spurred on the jesting side of him. "Well, there are actually a multitude of possible scenarios that could play out. You could scream for your companions, only for them to find you here in my despicable presence, to which they would either beat the snot out of me for threatening to defile their ward or scold the hell out of you for choosing to provoke me at such an hour."

"Not off the table," the princess murmured, still miffed.

"You could turn me down, like the good little maiden we all know and love, and scurry back to your tent in a mighty huff. There you'll lie in bed, and though you know you made the proper decision to uphold your wholesome image, there will an itch at the corner of your mind. A flash of curiosity at what you may have missed out on. A tinge of regret that parts you from slumber for yet another night."

Killian stopped and noted the look of involvement on Aurora's face.

"Or?" she asked in a low voice, sounding less annoyed than before.

The prisoner's tongue darted out to moisten his lower lip as he finished.

"Or...you'd oblige my rascally intentions, only to fall madly and passionately in love with me after just one night of frivolous indiscretion."

"The nerve!" Aurora clamored as she rose to her feet, indignant with his words. "That's no way to speak to a woman!"

"You asked, milady! 'Twas inclined to behoove your orders!"

"You scoundrel! All I wanted was some company!"

Killian shrugged. "You asked me to keep you awake. Seems you're quite lively right now, no? Perky, on the other hand..."

Aurora's hands balled into fists and shook violently at her sides as she gritted, "Do you have any idea how infuriating you are? Why do you insist on being so...so-,"

"Dashing? Clever? Blunt?" The last word Killian emphasized with a serious tone. "The world is not some glorious tea party, Highness. If everyone sugarcoated and polished their words for the sake of being proper, we'd be living lives as fake as the rouge on your pretty lips. So pardon me if I'm being too _honest_ for your taste. I may be a pirate, but I save my deception for when it counts."

Aurora gazed down at her feet again, and it almost frustrated Killian that she couldn't look him in the eyes. Whatever discomfort she had gotten over when she approached him earlier had now managed to reveal itself again. For some strange reason, it bothered him. Perhaps he had grown so used to being the villain that he forfeited himself of feeling any emotions other than vengeance and bitterness.

"No one has ever spoken to me that way before," Aurora finally admitted in a quiet voice.

"I won't apologize for being honest."

"It's not that. It was the other stuff." She met his eyes (much to his relief, surprisingly) and at his searching look, she cleared her throat awkwardly. "You were so brazen about...how did you put it...'frivolous indiscretion.'"

Killian smiled at her and sarcastically asked, "You mean to say sensuality is not openly discussed in the royal community?"

At this, Aurora's lips finally curved upward. " _Ha ha ha_." This earned an amused look from Killian. "Isn't it painfully obvious?"

"Your naivety? Inexperience? Lack of knowledge?" A sharp glare hit Killian right where it counted, and he bowed his head in surrender. "You're young, milady. It's not such an outrageous quality."

"Not a very desirable one," Aurora quipped, back to examining the ground.

Killian frowned. "Where have you heard such slander?"

"Please, don't patronize me. I may not know much, but I know more of the world than you'd think. I see the way you look at Emma Swan, the way you flirt with her. Girls— _women—_ like her always have men falling all over them." Aurora paused, running a hand up and down her opposite arm uncomfortably. "It's because she's confident. Her experience makes her tough and...and desirable. Men want a woman who knows what she's doing, what she wants, and who she is."

It might have been the sleep deprivation talking, but Aurora suddenly realized how downtrodden she sounded; the silence from Hook, in addition to the sheepish look on his handsome face, merely confirmed her discernment. Taking a leaf from the pirate's book, she decided to try to lighten the mood.

"How are you supposed to gain experience when you've been asleep for 28 years? Damned curse."

Killian's eyes lifted to meet hers, an eyebrow raised.

"Such vulgar language from such a pristine lass!"

Aurora giggled. "Philip always hated when I swore. He said swearing was for sailors."

"Take it from a sailor, love: somehow it sounds much prettier falling from your lips than mine."

Suddenly, the air grew thick between them. Killian couldn't help but revel in the mauve color that had filled the princess' cheeks at his last statement. She sure was a pretty thing in the moonlight, all flushed and rebellious. Where there had been tension between the two, there was tension still but of a much different variety.

"I wager it would be in your best interest to return to your tent now, Highness," Killian said, a last ditch effort at being honorable.

Aurora began to walk but ended up taking a seat right in front of him, sitting back on her heels to face him. Her scent was now at its strongest, drawing him in more than ever. Her skin shone iridescently in the dim light from the starlit sky, and her eyes shimmered like the moon off the river. They lingered on his mouth.

"You're right, Killian. If I leave you and go back to my tent, I'll be filled with a curiosity that I won't be able to satisfy. The only boy I've ever loved is also the only one I've ever kissed, and he's never coming back. I can't even see him in my dreams because all I have are nightmares." Those cerulean orbs brimmed with tears, knifing through Killian's heart. "I will never love again. But I want to feel something. Anything other than numb."

Before Killian could offer a rebuttal, his breath was stolen from him as a small hand found it's way to his knee. The most subtle touch had a profound effect on him, desire pooling in the pit of his stomach. He looked from her hand to her face and found himself powerless. It had been such a long time since he'd enjoyed the company of a beautiful woman, and here he was, being propositioned by an exquisite virgin princess. His head swam with possibility.

Aurora let out a much needed breath and drew her face closer to his, her perfect chest heaving enough to tempt Killian out of his mind. His pants were now uncomfortably tight, so tight he wondered if she could see it too. She placed a soft kiss on the throbbing pulse point of his neck, and he struggled to fight the groan fighting its way out of his throat.

"I think-" she whispered tantalizingly, lips pressed just barely to his ear, "-that you could make me feel something."

Killian was at a loss for words, which was a rare occurrence. He understood Aurora's plight. Losing Milah had made him cold and unfeeling, and little aside from the smell of sea and the feel of a steering wheel beneath his fingers gave him any sort of elation anymore. Only rum and hatred replaced the rush of adrenaline in his blood. Although, his primal urges had yet to die, and somehow a good fuck was usually strong enough to elicit momentary feeling. This, however, was not a typical one night stand.

"Don't you know what you're doing, love?" He murmured as quiet as a prayer as the princess continued to press her mouth to his skin, each kiss a new kind of torture.

"What I lack in experience, I make up for in knowledge. I used to sneak into the restricted section of the kingdom library to expand my horizons on the subject. Besides, its not like I'm complete devoid. Philip and I used to sneak kisses every chance we got."

Killian shook his head to still her as he was still tied to the tree and could not use his arms (an especially frustrating dilemma at this point). She paused to indulge him.

"Soon it will be morning, and someone will discover your absence. If they find you here, we're both in the doghouse. All things considered, I'm not sure how it could get worse for me, but I'd rather not find out."

Aurora recoiled and furrowed her brow. "Then why proposition me in the first place? To make me look like a fool?"

"Trust me, Highness, I would-"

"Please, I appreciate the formality, but call me Aurora."

Killian sighed. " _Aurora_. I would enjoy nothing more than to take part in your little experiment-" he told her, eyes trailing over her lovely frame, "-to introduce you to pleasure unlike you've ever read about. But we can't."

The princess' eyes fell, beautifully dejected.

"Not under these circumstances," Killian threw in.

Suddenly, there was a hopefulness in Aurora's face. She tilted her head questioningly, and before she could voice her inquiry, Killian had explained himself.

"If we play this right, we can convince them to let you keep watch over me tomorrow night."

"How do you suppose we'll manage that?" Aurora asked. "They've made it perfectly clear that I'm the weakest one here. They'd never let me take that shift."

"Just leave it to me. Follow my lead, and when the opportunity arises for you to take the position, be assertive. I'll make it easy for you."

Aurora raised an eyebrow. "What's in this for you anyhow?"

Casting a darkened gaze at the girl, Killian replied, "I am human after all, love. There is quite the benefit in providing you with a thorough...education on the matter." Reminded by the aching throb of his half-hard member, he added, "And any man would be an absolute imbecile to turn down a fair lady like yourself."

At this, Aurora blushed again, her eyes cast downward to showcase her long, lovely lashes. She really was a spectacular beauty. The thought was not wasted on the pirate. He'd had many a woman falling at his feet, but never a princess. It was almost too cliché to bear, but he'd gladly deal with it.

Aurora leaned forward once more and placed a soft, chaste kiss on the captain's lips. It was simple but effective, and Killian went to wrap his arms around her, grunting as he remembered his restraints. Instead of dwelling on the negatives, he proceeded to kiss her back, grazing her sweet tongue with his own.

Pulling away, Aurora's eyes stayed closed but her raised brows alluded to the surprise she was feeling. Philip may have been a good kisser, but this was something of a whole new experience. His tongue had been in her mouth! And it felt good. Too good. She sighed contentedly and opened her eyes to see a smug but tense looking pirate before her.

"Off with you now," he chided in a hoarse voice. "Before I rip through these ropes and show you a real kiss."

She bit her lip cheekily, her stomach flip-flopping at the the thought of his hands (or hand, rather) on her, and stood up. Making her way back towards the tent quietly, she turned back to bid him goodnight but stopped herself. Killian was not some puppy love suitor escorting her back to her castle and kissing her goodnight at the threshold: he was a captive. A lowlife pirate with no good intentions, one of which included her. He wasn't looking to court her; he was fixing to ravish her.

The goodnight that hung on her lips got swallowed and forced down to vanquish the butterflies fluttering in her stomach. Aurora padded back to the tent, where she spent the rest of the night feverishly running trembling fingertips over the spot where the pirate had staked his claim.


End file.
